Thill-coupling.



No. 784,990. PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

- E. J..S.. DAVIS.

' THILL COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1904..

gluoentez v Z A? UNITED STATES Patented March 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFrcE- ERNEST J. S. DAVIS, OF KNOXVILLE, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO ANDREW VANDRIMMELEN, OF KNOXVILLE, IOWVA.

THILL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 784,990, dated March14, 1905.

Application filed June 4:, 1904. Serial No- 211,181.

To alt whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST J. S. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Knoxville, in the county of Marion and State of Iowa, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Thin-Couplings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in thill-couplings;and its object is to provide an attachment of simple and inexpensiveconstruction which is adapted to be placed upon the clip of the couplingand which is provided with means whereby rattling of the thill-ironwithin the clip is prevented.

A furtherobject is to provide means for look ing the pin of the couplingin position within the thill-iron.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists of aframe adapted to be placed outside of and hung from the armsof the clipof the thill-coupling, and this frame has inwardly-extending ends whichengage the arms, so as to hold the frame in position thereon. A springengages one end of the frame and has a curved portion for bearing on thethill-iron, and this spring is adapted to be tensioned by means of a camwhich is mounted within the frame and is adapted to be 0perated by asuitable handle. A pin-retaining strip is pivoted to the frame and isadapted to hold the coupling-pin in position. The invention alsoconsists of the further novel construction and combination of partshereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of my-invention, andin which Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a coupling. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the coupling, the thill-iron being shown in section. Fig. 3is a horizontal section through the antirattler attachment, and Fig. 4is a detail view showing the manner of connecting the spring to theframe of theattachment.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is an axle having aclip 2 of ordinary construction secured thereon, said clip beingprovided with forwardly projecting arms 3 for the reception of acoupling-pin 4. This coupling-pin extends through a thill-iron 5 5 ofordinary construction. An attachment is provided for preventing rattlingof the parts ,of the coupling, and this attachment comprises a frame 6,which is substantially rectangular in form and has inwardly-turned ends5 5 7, which extend over and bear upon the arms 3. The frame 6 inc losesthe arms of the clip and has a recess 8 at its lower end, in which islocated a tongue 9, which fits within a slot 10, formed within one endof a spring 11. This spring has a curved portion 12, which bears uponthe end of the thill-iron 5. A rod 13 is revolubl; mounted within thesides of frame 6 and has an extension 1 1 at one end, which forms ahandle. The central portion 5 of the rod 13 is pressed out of alinementwith the remainder thereof, as shown at 15, so as to produce a cam whichis adapted to press the spring 11 forward and cause the curved portion12 thereof to tightly bear upon the 7 end of the thill-iron. An ear 16extends laterally from one side of the frame 6 and serves to support aretaining-plate 17, which is pivoted to said side of the frame, as shownat 18, and is adapted to overlap the head of the coupling-pin 4 andprevent the parts from becoming detached. This retainingplate 17 has 'alaterally-extending car 19, which forms a thumb-piece whereby the-stripcan be readily movedfrom position upon the pin-head. By having a spacebetween the ends 7 of the frame 6 said frame can be spread apart orcontracted, so as to adapt it for use upon clips of different widths.

When it is desired to attach this antirattler 5 device to a clip, thethill-iron is removed and the frame 6 is placed over and suspended fromthe arms 3. The thill-iron' 5 is then placed between the arms 3, and thecoupling-pin 4 is inserted thereinto. The spring 11 is so pro- 9portioned that when the parts are in these positions the curved portion12 of the spring will bear lightly upon the end of the thilliron. Strip17 is then swung downward upon the car 16 and assumes a position uponthe head of the pin t, and thereby prevents it from being accidentallydisplaced. After the Having thus described the invention, What strip 17has been swung downward into retaining position the cam is rotated, soas to press the spring 11 tightly against the thilliron, thereby holdingall of the parts securely together and preventing rattling. Theextension 11 of the rod 13 does not contact with the bottom of the axleuntil after the cam 15 has passed the point of greatest pressure on thespring. It will therefore be seen that this cam and the parts connectedtherewith are held in place by the pressure of the spring thereagainst.Moreover, the inner end of the strip 17 is straight and at right anglesto the side edges thereof, and when the spring 11 is tensioned in themanner above described the inner end of the strip 17 is pressed againstthe flat piece of the axle, and said strip is therefore prevented frombeing moved either upward or downward. The head of pin4 projectsslightly beyond the arm 3 of the clip, and therefore prevents the arm 6from slipping forward out of position in the event of is claimed as newis 1. An antirattler attachment for couplings comprising a frame havinginwardly-bent separable ends and a laterally-extending ear, aretaining-strip pivoted to the frame and adapted to be supported by thecar, a lug upon the frame, a spring havinga stationary apertured enddetachably engaging the lug, said spring also having a curved portion,and a cam mounted within the frame for tensioning the spring.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a cliphaving arms extending from it; of a thill-iron between the arms, alongitudinallymovable coupling-pin engaging the arms and thill-iron, aframe partly surrounding the arms and suspended therefrom, one end ofsaid frame having inwardly-bent and separable supporting portionsbearing upon the arms, an ear upon the frame, a lug integral with oneend of the frame, a spring having an apertured stationary end detachablyengaging the lug, said spring being adapted to bear upon the thilliron,means for tensioning the spring and a retaining-strip pivoted to theframe and adapted to extend over one end of the coupling-pin and to bearupon the ear.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST J. s. DAVIS. Witn esses:

L. B. MYERS, W. R. MYERS.

